Amusement apparatus.



HOWARD THURS'I'ON, 0F COSCOB, CONNECTICUT.

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 16, 1914.

Application filed October 25, 1913. Serial No. 797,199.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD THUnsroN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Coscob, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Amusement Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the invention is to provide an amusement apparatus for use in halls or at parks, seaside resorts, and the like, by which a number of persons in pairs in individual cars may be carried along a circu tous path arranged to impart to the cars undulating and turning or angular movements on their vertical axes, whereby the individuals in pairs standing upon the cars receive movements corresponding with or suffi' ciently approximating those of the waltz or other round or analogous dance, although the individuals themselves.stand motionless upon the cars. Preferably also the cars will be allowed a limited tilting motion 1n any direction. The movements of the cars will be timed with dance-music to be played by a band or mechanical instrument so that there will be a harmonious relation between the motions of the cars with the individuals thereon and appropriate dance-music. I shall preferably inclose the apparatus within a building and cause a number of the cars suitably spaced apart to travel along the pathway provided therefor, and by prefcrence the central portion of the building will be partitioned off from the end portions thereof and exposed to the light, while said end portions are darkened, so that spectators may observe the movements of the cars during portions of the travel of the latter, and that during other portions of their travel the cars may pass through darkened chambers to vary the effect, mystery and pleasure afiorded by the apparatus.

The invention resides more particularly in the novel construction of the individual cars, with the cooperative devices therefor.

The cars are each to carry two standing passengers and each has a vertical cylindrical body portion provided with a door or doors to admit the passengers, and this body portion is mounted on a rotary platform between which and the bottom of said body portion are arranged cushioning springs to allow of a limited tilting motion in said body. The cylindrical body portion of the car is arranged to rotate with the said rotary platform and is connected therewith by a central vertical bolt, which, although securing the body portion to said platform, has a sufiiciently loose fit at its upper end in the bottom of the said body portion to permit the latter to have a limited tilting movement on the said springs. The rotary platform carrying the cylindrical body portion of the car is mounted by means of a central vertical axis on the car frame and this frame has swiveled'trucks carrying the car wheels and their axles and also a motor, suitable gearing and shoes whereby the car may be electrically driven from charged rails arranged parallel with the track rails. The main frame of the car is provided on opposite sides with wheels to be engaged by cam means or elevations located at suitable points along the path of the car for pressing the said wheels, independently upwardly against the rotary platform supporting the car body, so that said wheels on their rotation may rotate said platform in one direction and in the other direction, as the case may be, and thereby impart the requiste turning motions to the car body. The springs between the rotary platform and the bottom of the car body will permit said body while having its turning motions to have also undulating movements of appropriate character, so that on the whole operation said car body may have imparted to it the requisite motions in imitation of dance movements. The said springs may be relied upon for securing the undulating movements in the car body or these movements may be .secured by having proper elevations on the surface of the track-rails or both said means may be employed, if desired.

The invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a bottom view of one of the novel cars utilized in the apparatus constituting my invention; Fig. 2 is a central vertical longitudinal section, partly broken away, through the same on the dotted line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section through the same on the dotted line 33 of Fig. 1, the upper and lower floorings of the apparatus being illustrated in section; Fig. 4 is a horizontal section through the car on the dotted line H of Fig. 3,; Fig. 5 is a detached side elevation of one of the members carried on the lowerthe car body may tilt and then restoring theflooring of the apparatus for turning the body of the car on its vertical axis; Fig. 6 is a detached perspective view of one of the electric shoes carried by one of the trucks of the car for engaging an electric rail, and Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view, illustrating the circuits through the electric rails and the motor and shoes carried by the car.

In the drawings, 10 designates the upper or main flooring of the apparatus or building, 11 a lower flooring on which are parallel track rails 12, and, when desired, electric or third rails 13, and 14 one of the cars embodying my invention comprising a body portion 15, a bottom plate therefor 16, a rotary platform 17 supporting upon interposed springs 18 said body portion, the main carrying frame 19 of the car and truck frames which are swiveled, by the bolts 21, at their forward ends'tothe main frame 19 and carrying the axles 22 for the car wheels 23, the latter being suitably flanged and adapted to the track rails 12.

The body portion 15 is of vertical cylindricaloutline and intended to carry two passengers in standing position and said portion 15 may be provided with entrance and exit doors 24 of any suitable character. The body portion 15 preferably has an inner wooden bottom 25 and a plate bottom 16 below said wooden bottom and extending outwardly slightly beyond the vertical plane of the sides of the body portion 15, said sides at their lower edges being flanged outwardly and secured to said plate bottom 16.

The rotary platform 17 is preferably one integral disk-like plate having at the central portion of its lower side a ball-bearing race 27 and a vertical king pin 28, which is inserted downwardly through a vertical bearing sleve 29 formed on the main running gear frame 19, which frame is equipped with a ball race 30 to match the ball race 27 on the rotary platform 17. Interposed between the rotary platform 17 and the bottom of the body portion 15 are the coiled springs 18, there preferably being four of these springs, arranged at equal distances apart and located near the outer edges of said platform, the springs 18 are fastened to the car body and platform 17 and support in a cushioning manner said car body. The car body 15 is loosely, though elfectually, secured to the platform 17 by a central bolt 31, which extends somewhat freely through a hole in the bottom of the body portion 15 and enters an internally threaded socket in the king pin 28, as shown in Fig. 2. The head on the bolt 31 will prevent undue upward movement of the car body from the rotary platform 17, but will permit said car body to have tilting movements of limited extent in any direction upon the springs 18, said springs yielding at any point at which car body to its horizontal position. The tilting movements allowed in the car body 15 simulate undulating dance movements, which, in accordance with my invention are accompanied by rotary movements in one direction and in the other direction imparted to the rotary platform 17 and body portion 15 in the manner hereinafter described.

The main carrying or truck frame 19 will preferably be in one integral casting, and the swiveled frames 20 will. also preferably be each in one integral casting and of substantially the outline shown in Fig. 1, said frames having converging forward portions receiving the bolts 21 and are slots 32 in their rear portions (Fig. 1) guiding on bolts 33.

The frames 20 have depending hangers 34 which afford bearings for the axles 22 carrying the wheels 23, and said frames 20 are swiveled on the bolts 21 so that they may adjust themselves to the turns in the track rails 12, it being my purpose that the rails 12 shall afford a circuitous path for the cars, said path winding back and forth and extending in any desired manner, one object being to get the longest possible line of travel within the space that may be afforded by a building or in an allotted location. The track rails 12 may be plain rails of known character, and when desired I will have said rails equipped at various predetermined points with slight elevations (Fig. 2) over which the wheels 23 will ride and which will impart to the cars a suitable undulating movement. This undulating movement may be secured wholly by the use of the springs 18 or wholly by the use of elevations 35 on the track rails, or both said springs 18 and the elevations 35 may be employed in accordance with the particular motions it may be desired the body 15 of the car shall have.

The rear swiveled frame 20 has secured. to its lower side a motor 36, the shaft of which carries a pinion 37 in mesh with a gear wheel 38 on a shaft 39 which has a pinion 40 in mesh with a gear wheel 41 on the rear axle 22. The shaft 39 is an intermediate shaft and supported in hangers 42 formed integrally with the rear swiveled frame 20. The motor 36 is, when the cars are in use, in electrical connection with the current carrying rails 18 upon which the shoes 44 (Fig. 6) are arranged to slide, said shoes each being pivoted to a plate 45 carried by a pivoted right-angularly shaped bar 46, a block of insulating material 47 being interposed between the plate 45 and said bar 46. There are two of the bars 46, and these bars are pivotally secured at their rear ends to the hangers 34 of the rear swiveled frame 20. The motor 36 with the gearing 37, 3 8, 40, 41, shoes 44 and rails 13, and

circuit connections permit the ears to be independently electrically driven on the track rails 12.

In Fig. 7 I illustrate the circuit for the motor 36 and shoes 44, there being one conductor 48 passing from one shoe to the motor, a conductor 49 passing from the other shoe to a bar 50 which is fastened on an insulating plate 43 at the front of the main track frame 19, a conductor 51 which leads to the motor from the bar 52 corresponding with the bar 50 and adjacent thereto, as shown in Fig. 1, and a conducting bar 53 which, when the car is in use, will connect the said bars 50, 52. The conducting bar 53 is carried by a slidable yoke 54 which forwardly of said bar 53 has an insulating section 55. When the yoke 54 is in the position shown in Fig. 1 the circuit is completed through the bar 53, but in the event of a collision between two cars the impact of one car against the other will cause the yoke 54 to be slid inwardly and carry the insulation 55 across the conducting bars and thereby break the circuit through the motor 36. The yoke 54 is a frame of substantially U- shape held against the lower front portion of the main frame 19 by a bar 56 or other convenient means. The bars 50, 52 are in the nature of bent springs, as shown in Fig. 2, and hence when the yoke 54 is pressed inwardly there will be no contact of said bars with the bar 53. The yoke 54 is normally pressed outwardly by means of a spring 57 interposed between it and the front end of the main truck frame 19, as shown in Fig. 2. Below the opposite sides of the main truck or carrying frame 19 are secured upon bolts 58, the inner ends of laterally extending bars 59, these bars being adapted to have a hinged movement from their lower position, shown at the left hand side of Fig. 3, to an upper position, shown at the right hand side of Fig. 3. The bolts 58 engage threaded apertures in a flange 6O on the frame 19 and the inner ends of the bars 59 are loosely received on the upper ends of said bolts. The bars 59 extend outwardly between vertical guide flanges 61, which are crossed at their lower ends by 50 bolts 62 which aflord supports for the bars 59 when the latter are in their lower position, shown at the left hand side of Fig. 3. Upon the outer ends of the bars 59 are rotatably mounted friction wheels 63, which are below the outer portions of the rotary platform 17 and in the plane of certain cam frames 64 which will be interposed at suitable points in the path of said wheels 63. The frames 64 may be variously constructed, but I prefer to construct them in the manner shown in Fig. 5 in which the frame 64 is a bar hinged at one end on a block 65 and supported at its other end upon a coiled spring 66 mounted'on said block, said bar being inclined upwardly and curved adjacent to its far end where it engages the spring 66. The cam frame 64 extends upwardly above the lower edge of the wheels 63 when the latter are in their lower position and during the travel of the cars, said wheels, one or the other, will from time to time rIde against said cam frames and be thereby forced upwardly against the rotary platform 17, as indicated at the right hand side of Fig. 3, said wheels at the same time being caused to rotate by their engagement with the cam frames 64 and imparting rotary movements to the platform 17 by their engagement therewith. The cam frames 64 are arranged in staggered order with respect to each other, so that at no time will both of the wheels 63 be pressed upwardly at the same period, the purpose being that said wheels shall go upwardly to engage and rotate the platform 17 in alternation, so that during certain times the said platform with the car body 15 may be rotated in one direction and at other times in the reverse direction. The length of the cam bars 64 will vary so that the rotary movement imparted to the platform 17 and car body 15 therefrom may be of predetermined extent, the purpose being to imitate, as nearly as possible, proper dance movements. It is desirable therefore that the rotary movements imparted to the platform- 17 and car body 15 shall be in proper timing and of proper duration in accordance with the result sought.

The operation of the apparatus will be understood from the foregoing description without extended further detailed explanation. The track rails will be of extended length and laid to define a circuitous path, and a number of the cars 14 will be applied on said rails and caused to travel thereon to the accompaniment of dance music to be rendered by orchestra o-r a mechanical instrument. The upper flooring 10 has formed in it along the length of the track rails a slot 90 through which the cars above the truck carrying frames pass. During the travel of the cars 14 they receive turning motions in one direction and in the other direction when the wheels 63 ride over the cam frames 64. The car bodies are given an undulating motion by reason of their support upon the springs 18 or by the presence on the track rails of the elevations 35, or by reason of the employment of both said springs and said elevation.

In the drawings I have only shown one of the cars 14 and short sections of the upper and lower floorings 10, 11 and track rails, but it will be well understood that a number of cars will be made use of and that the fioorings will be as large as space will permit. The apparatus will also be made use of in connection with other features not necessary to be illustrated; as for instance it would be desirable to cause the cars to travel through light space and dark chambers or tunnels or otherwise to add to the unystery and pleasure to be afforded by a rear frames connected therewith, carrying wheels to engage said rails, a rotary platform mounted on said main frame, a tiltable body-portion to hold passengers above and connected with said platform and springs interposed between said platform and body-portion and supporting said bodyportion, combined with means for driving the car, and means for turning the said body-portion on its vertical axis in one direction and in the other direction during the travel of the car.

2. In an amusement apparatus, track-rails and a passenger car thereon comprising a main carrying frame, swiveled front and rear frames connected therewith, carrying wheels to engage said rails, a rotary platform mounted on said main frame, a tiltable body-portion to hold passengers above and connected with said platform and springs interposed between said platform and body-portion and supporting said bodyportion, combined with means for turning the said body-portion on its vertical axis in one direction and in the other direction during the travel of the car, a current carrying rail, a motor carried by the rear swiveled frame, a shoe to engage said rail and electric circuit connections, including the shoe and motor, with means for automatically breaking the circuit in the event of a collision between two cars.

3. In an amusement apparatus, track-rails and a passenger car thereon comprising a main carrying frame, swiveled front and rear frames connected therewith, carrying wheels to engage said rails, a rotary platform mounted on said main frame, a tiltable body-portion to hold passengers above and connected with said platform and springs interposed between said platform and bodyportion and supporting said body-portion, combined with means for driving the car, and means for turning the said body-portion on its vertical axis in one direction and in the other direction during the travel of the car, said rotary platform being a disk haying a central depending king pin and said main carrying frame having a vertlcal sleeve receiving said pin.

4. In an amusement apparatus, trackrails and a passenger car thereon comprising a main carrying frame, swiveled front and rear frames connected therewith, carrying wheels to engage said rails, a rotary platform mounted on said main frame, a tiltable body-portion to hold passengers above and connected with said platform and springs interposed between said platform and bodyportion and supporting said body-portion, combined with means for driving the car, and means for turning the said body-portion on its vertical axis in one direction and in the other direction during the travel of the car, said rotary platform being a disk having a central depending king pin and said main carrying frame having a vertical sleeve receiving said pin, and the means connecting said body portion with said rotary platform comprising a bolt extending somewhat freely through the bottom of said body portion and entering a socket in said king pm.

5. In an amusement apparatus, track-rails and a passenger car thereon comprising a main carrying frame, swiveled front and rear frames connected therewith, carrying wheels to engage said rails, a rotary platform mounted on said main frame, a tiltable body-portion to hold passengers above and connected with said platform and springs interposed between said platform and bodyportion and supporting said body-portion, combined with means for driving the car, and means for turning the said body-portion on its vertical axis in one direction and in the other direction during the travel of the car, said means for turning said body portion on its vertical axis comprising cam frames located at varying points along the track rails and wheels below and normally free of said rotary platform but capable, when engaging said cam frames of being pressed upwardly against said platform for rotating it, said wheels being carried upon the outer ends of laterally extending bars hinged at their inner ends to said main carrying frame.

6. In an amusement apparatus, track rails and a passenger car thereon comprising a main carrying frame, swiveled front and rear frames connected therewith, carrying wheels to engage said rails and a body portion to hold passengers mounted to turn axially above said main frame, combined with means for driving the car, and means for turning the said body portion on its vertical axis in one direction and in the other direction during the travel of the car, comprising cam frames located at varying points along the track-rails and wheels below and normally free of said rotary platform but capable, when engaging said cam frames of being pressed upwardly against said platform for rotating it, said wheels being carried upon the outer ends of latorally extending bars hinged at their inner ends to said main carrying frame.

7. In an amusement apparatus, track rails and a passenger car thereon comprising a main carrying frame. swiveled front and rear frames connected therewith, carrying wheels to engage said rails and a body portion to hold passengers mounted to turn axially above said main frame, combined with means for driving the ear, means for securing undulating movements in said body portion during the travel of the car and means for turning said body portion on its vertical axis in one direction and in the other direction during the travel of the car, comprising cam frames located at varying points along the track rails and wheels below and normally free of said rotary platform but capable, when engaging said cam frames, of being pressed upwardly against said platform for rotating it, said wheels being carried upon the outer ends of laterally extending bars hinged at their inner ends to said main carrying frame.

8. In an amusement apparatus, track-rails and a passenger car thereon comprising a main carrying frame, swiveled front and rear frames connected therewith, carrying wheels to engage said rails and a body portion to hold passengers mounted to turn axially above said main frame, combined with means for securing undulating movements in said body portion during the travel of the car, means for turning said body portion on its vertical axis in one direction and in the other direction during the travel of the car, and means for driving the car, comprising a current carrying rail, a motor carried by the rear swiveled frame, a

shoe to engage said rail and electric circuit connections, including the shoe and motor, with means for automatically breaking the circuit in the event of a collision between two cars.

9. In an amusement apparatus, track rails and a passenger car thereon comprising a main carrying frame, swiveled front and rear frames connected therewith, carrying wheels to engage said rails and a body portion to hold passengers mounted to turn axially above said main frame, combined with means for securing undulating movements in said body portion during the travel of the car, means for turning said body portion on its vertical axis in one direction and in the other direction during the travel of the car, and means for driving the car, comprising two current carrying rails, a motor carried by the rear swiveled frame, shoes carried by the main frame to engage said rails and electric circuit connections including the shoes and motor with means at the front of said main frame automatically maintaining the circuit and automatically breaking the circuit in the event of a collision between two cars.

Signed at Rochester in the county of Monroe and State of New York this 18 day of October A. D. 1913.

HOWARD THURSTON.

Witnesses: JAY KLINK, i A. L. M. DAVIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, 'Washington, D. 0. 

